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Royal Dutch Shell is preparing to deploy its Olympus tension leg platform in the Gulf of Mexico. The 406-foot-tall platform, which is capable of operating in water depths of up to 5,000 feet, will work at Shell's Mars B project off the coast of Louisiana. "Instead of gravity, we are using buoyancy to create the tension," said Kelly Bowen, the project's principal construction engineer.

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Researchers used extremely narrow X-ray beams to irradiate a piece of bridge plagued with alkali-aggregate reaction. Then, data analysis and diffraction measurements led them to figure out that AAR has a sheet-silicate structure, something unknown before. Andreas Leemann, head of the concrete technology group at Empa, noted that "it's possible to add organic materials to the concrete that are able to reduce the build-up of tension," adding that the new knowledge could "provide a scientific basis for these considerations and could pave the way for the development of new materials."

The selection of the jury began Monday in the case against former BP engineer Kurt Mix related to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The Justice Department charged Mix with two counts of obstruction of justice, accusing him of deleting text and voice mail messages that are relevant to the investigation of the spill. The trial is expected to last for three weeks.

Royal Dutch Shell touted its Ursa tension leg platform in the Gulf of Mexico, which in 2009 was selected by the Guinness Book of Records as the tallest structure in the world. The platform's visible structure measures about 400 feet, but when its mooring tendons are factored in, it measures about 4,285 feet. Conditions at the site and engineering expertise prompted Shell to secure the platform with tension legs.

Royal Dutch Shell announced plans to construct a production platform for oil and natural gas in the Gulf of Mexico, with a capacity of as much as 100,000 barrels per day. "The outlook for deep water remains positive, despite the current drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico," the company said.

The best business meetings are like an Italian family mealtime, says Sharon Napier, CEO of Partners + Napier -- they're noisy, and people shout and argue, but everyone hugs and makes up at the end. The goal isn't to be combative for its own sake, but rather to create an environment in which people can be completely honest without worrying about hurting people's feelings. "I love what I always call creative tension," Napier says. "There has to be enough trust to do that."